Three new sesquiterpene lactones from the whole plants of Elephantopus scaber.

Three new sesquiterpene lactones, named scabertopinolides H - J (1 - 3), along with four known ones, desacylisodeoxyelephantopin 2-methylbutyrate (4), iso-17,19-dihydrodeoxyelephantopin (5), scabertopinolide D (6) and (2R,6R,7R,8S)-8-tigloyloxy-1(10),4(5),11(13)-germacratrien-2,15,6,12-diolide (7) were isolated from the whole plants of Elephantopus scaber. Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (including IR, UV, HRESIMS, 1 D and 2 D NMR) and single-crystal X-ray. These isolated compounds showed effective anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with IC50 values of 6.27 ± 0.18 to 18.31 ± 1.38 µM.

One new sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloid from the stems and leaves of Euonymus fortunei.

A new sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloid (1), along with four known compounds (2-5), were isolated from the stems and leaves of Euonymus fortunei. The new structure was determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses (IR, UV, NMR, HRESIMS and ECD). In addition, compound 3 showed a stronger anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity with an IC50 value of 1.20 ± 0.10 µM than the positive control ribavirin with an IC50 value of 5.62 ± 0.49 µM.[Formula: see text].

Hyperpatulones A-F, polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum patulum and their cytotoxic activities.

Six new compounds, hyperpatulones A-F (1-6), along with ten additional known related derivatives (7-16), were isolated from Hypericum patulum (Guttiferae). Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (IR, UV, HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR), X-ray crystallography, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy and Rh2(OCOCF3)4-induced ECD. All compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities on human HepG-2, HeLa, MCF-7, and A549 cell lines via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Compound 5 exhibited significant cytotoxicities against HepG-2, HeLa and A549 cell lines with IC50 values of 9.52 ± 0.27, 11.87 ± 0.22 and 12.63 ± 0.12 µM, respectively.

Matrine-Type Alkaloids from the Roots of Sophora flavescens and Their Antiviral Activities against the Hepatitis B Virus.

Eight new matrine-type alkaloids, flavesines G-J (1-4), alopecurine B (5), 7,11-dehydro-oxymatrine (6), 10-oxy-5,6-dehydromatrine (7), and 10-oxysophoridine (8), along with nine known analogues (9-17) were isolated from the roots of Sophora flavescens. Compounds 1-3 are the first natural matrine-type alkaloids with an open-loop ring D, while compound 4 represents an unprecedented dimerization pattern constructed from matrine and piperidine, and 5 is the first example of a matrine-type alkaloid with cleavage of the C-5-C-6 bond. The new structures were elucidated by means of spectroscopic data analysis (including NMR, MS, IR, and UV), and the absolute configurations were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ECD data. The isolated alkaloids were evaluated for their antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus, and compounds 1, 4, 5, 10, and 14 exhibited comparable antiviral potencies to matrine.